Barry Goldwater was an American politician and businessperson. He served as a Republican U.S. Senator from Arizona, from January 3, 1953 to January 3, 1965, and again from January 3, 1969 to January 3, 1987.

He was the Republican Party’s nominee for President of the United States in 1964. He was also a candidate for the Republican Party’s 1960 presidential nomination.

Barry was the son of Hattie Josephine (Williams) and Baron M. Goldwater. He had four children with his first wife, Margaret Johnson, to whom he was married until her death.

Barry’s father was Jewish (of Polish Jewish and Russian Jewish descent). Barry’s mother, who was of English ancestry, was Christian. Barry was raised an Episcopalian, though he sometimes referred to himself as Jewish. His second wife, Susan Shaffer Wechsler (married from 1992 to his 1998, his death), was a convert to Judaism (for reasons unrelated to her marriage to Barry).

Barry Goldwater is one of two people of Jewish heritage to be nominated for President of the United States by a major American political party. John Kerry, nominated by the Democratic Party in 2004, was the other (Kerry’s paternal grandparents were born Jewish, though Kerry’s father and Kerry himself were raised Catholic).

Joe Lieberman, who is Jewish, was nominated for Vice President of the United States by the Democratic Party in 2000.

Barry’s paternal grandfather was Michel/Mike/Michael Goldwasser (the son of Hirsch/Hersch Goldwasser and Scheindel-Chawe/Fravda). Michel was born in Konin, Poznanskiego, Poland. Hirsch was the son of Naftali Hersch Goldwasser and Esther Scheindel.

Barry’s paternal grandmother was Sarah Nathan (the daughter of Moses Nathan and Hannah). Sarah was born in London, England, to parents from Russia.

Barry’s maternal grandfather was Robert Royal Williams (the son of John Asbury Williams and Ann Alfrey). Robert was born in Illinois. John was the son of John Williams and Mildred Amelia Gill. Ann was the daughter of John Alfrey and Barbara Ann Green.

Barry’s maternal grandmother was Laura Josephine Smith (the daughter of William Coats Smith and Sarah Liming). Laura was born in Ohio. William was the son of Daniel Smith and Hannah Coates. Sarah was the daughter of Ephraim Liming and Phoebe Foster.

Barry’s paternal great-grandparents, Hirsch/Hersch Goldwasser and Scheindel-Chawe/Fravda, were also the paternal great-great-great-great-grandparents of actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Thus, Barry and Christopher are second cousins, three times removed.

Barry was the first person of Jewish heritage to win a caucus and/or primary for a major party’s Presidential nomination. He won 7 in 1964, the year he was nominated. Three other people of Jewish heritage have won a major party’s presidential caucus and/or primary:
*John Kerry (2004, the year he was nominated; Democratic; won 51 contests)
*Wesley Clark (who sought the 2004 Democratic nomination; won 1 state, Oklahoma; Clark was born to a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother, and is a practicing Catholic)
*Bernie Sanders (who sought the 2016 Democratic nomination, and is seeking the 2020 Democratic nomination; in 2016, he won 23 contests)

Of the four, only Bernie Sanders is Jewish by religion, and he is the first person of Jewish religion to win a caucus and/or primary for a major American political party’s Presidential nomination (the 2016 New Hampshire primary).

Shapp, Agran, Specter, Lieberman, Karger, and Williamson were/are all Jewish by religion. Bennet and Steyer were raised in mixed-faith households, Bennet with a Jewish mother and Steyer with a Jewish father. Shapp was the first person of Jewish religion to mount a prominent campaign for a major party’s nomination for President of the United States.

Kirsten Gillibrand, a Catholic with a Jewish great-grandfather, also sought the 2020 Democratic nomination.